Tugboat captain dies after crane hits bridge, falls on pilot house

Equipment on barge fell onto pilot house

A tugboat captain was killed early Thursday, apparently when he was crushed by a crane that toppled over, the Coast Guard said.

The tugboat Cory Michael was pushing a barge in the Industrial Canal a little after midnight when a crane on the barge struck the raised Florida Avenue bridge, said Petty Officer 3rd Class Ryan Tippets, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Although the bridge had been raised above the height requested, he said, the crane fell onto the pilot house at that point, hitting the captain.

The Orleans Parish Coroner’s Office identified him as Michael Collins, 46. An autopsy was pending, said Brian Lapeyrolerie, the coroner’s chief investigator.

The Cory Michael made its way to a pier, where paramedics pronounced Collins dead, according to Tippets.